Dressed Like a Bat
by CarVie16
Summary: (A rewrite of Bruce and Diana's moment in the Batcave from "Justice League") Bruce and Diana talk about Superman's return and the proper leadership for the League. They also talk about Bruce's descent from vigilante superhero to a murderous nightmare in a cape, forcing the both of them to tackle strange feelings, both the ugly and the beautiful.


**Justice League was a fun disaster. It was disappointing, but surprisingly fun.**

 **I loved Ezra Miller's Flash because he is just so funny. The chemistry between Affleck and Gadot was another of my favorite parts. The action was okay, I admit.**

 **What I didn't like was Steppenwolf (a cliche villain with generic dialogue), how Superman's return was handled, some awful CGI (don't even get me started on Steppenwolf, Cyborg, and Henry Cavill's mustache), and making Ben Affleck's Batman jokey with and without the cowl.**

 **Anyway, now that that's out of the way, let's move on to the story. This is just a simple reimagining of Bruce and Diana's talk following Superman's return. They won't just be talking about Superman's return and the whole Steve Trevor talk. I'm giving my personal insight on Bruce's path from traumatized kid to vigilante superhero to the murderous nightmare from BvS. They'll also be talking about... something more.**

 **Call me a WonderBat fan if you want. I've been a supporter of that ship since the animated Justice League Unlimited series.**

 **Leave a review after reading, please. Feedback is always appreciated.**

 **DISCLAIMER: I don't own the DCEU. Everything DCEU belongs to DC and Warner Bros.**

* * *

The League had just returned to the Batcave (at least that's what Barry calls it) after resurrecting Superman and losing the third Mother Box to Steppenwolf.

Arthur is not happy, and he shows this by grabbing one of Bruce's machines and throwing it against the wall in anger, breaking it. Bruce is not happy either, only because Arthur broke something of his. Diana is just sharpening her sword. Barry is keeping his distance, afraid of making Arthur angrier. Victor is just staring out the glass window, brooding.

"Don't do that," Bruce said to the half-merman.

"We just got our asses handed to us, and Steppenwolf's got the third box," said Arthur angrily.

"So, we find them," said Diana. "If the boxes are close to each other, there is going to be some kind of energy surge."

"Steppenwolf's gonna be keeping them somewhere where they don't read. No internet. No satellite coverage," said Victor.

"That narrows it down, at least," said Bruce.

"Not enough," said Victor.

Arthur approaches the cyborg and rebukes him. "So, you can't find them? Or maybe you don't want to?"

Victor turns around with his plasma arm cannon, seemingly provoked by Arthur's attitude. The look on Victor's face, however, tells that he may not be doing this on his own free will and that his cybernetic body was doing all the work.

"Yeah, 'cause that worked well against Superman," said Arthur sarcastically, not intimiated.

"Man, I'm not doing this on purpose," said Victor, clearly sounding like he's struggling to control his own body.

"Right, because you can't control the machine," Arthur replied, still being sarcastic and rude.

"Uh, so, is this a bad time to bring up my blood sugar?" Barry asked, interrupting and/or stopping the fight between his two teammates. "I'm very hungry."

Arthur walks away while Diana approaches Victor, seeking to motivate him once again.

"Victory, you can find the boxes. You share their energy," she said. "I know it's frightening, but if you go under, I promise, we will pull you back out."

"Just keep the little merman away from me while I work," Cyborg asked.

Diana smiles, promising to make sure Arthur keeps his distance. Victor then starts locating for the boxes, using a holographic projection of the planet.

"Barry, go find Alfred in the pantry," said Bruce, helping Barry with his hunger problem. "Then come back, get online. Everybody check everyone else's work." He faces Arthur and says, "Don't touch anything. I'm serious. This isn't the first time I had to keep children from breaking my stuff."

"Then what can I do, oh mighty leader?" Arthur asked sarcastically.

"Use your communication with the aquatic life. I'm sure that's no problem for you," said Bruce.

"This is about the whole talking-to-fish thing, huh?" Arthur accused. "The water does the talking. If the current comes in strange, I'll point the way."

"Do better," Bruce said, still sounding ticked off.

Bruce walks away, grunting in pain due to his hurt shoulder. Diana notices this and becomes concerned, not just because of Bruce's physical condition but also because of his mental condition.

 **~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ JUSTICE LEAGUE ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~**

Bruce retreats to the trophy room, where he keeps souvenirs like samurai armor from Japan. He takes off his cape as he continues to feel the pain he suffered at the hands of Superman. Diana shows up, wearing a red cape, to see Bruce trying to take off his suit. It allowed her to see the bruises on his back caused by internal bleeding, which only worries her more.

Bruce returns to mentally complaining about his dislocated shoulder.

"No, let me," Diana offered.

"I'm fine," said Bruce. "I wasn't expecting to talk to him at all."

Diana holds Bruce's arm with one hand and places the other on his shoulder, preparing to pop it back in place.

"He could have killed you," said Diana.

"I was willing to make the trade," said Bruce.

Those words made Diana feel even more worried. His guilt was already maddening, but willing to sacrifice himself to save Superman was whole other level of madness. She knew he doesn't consider himself a beacon of hope, but to her, he's more than that. He just refused to see it himself. She wasn't going to tell him because she wanted him to find out on his own.

"And bringing in Lois Lane?" She asked.

"Remember what you told me about heart?" Bruce reminded her. "I bet you thought..."

Diana pops Bruce's shoulder back in place, which hurt him a bit. It was a bit of friendly payback for mentioning that conversation.

"... I wasn't listening," Bruce finished his sentence in spite the pain. "Thank you."

Bruce gets up to pour himself and Diana a glass of scotch. Diana resumes looking at him with worry. He's a grown man fighting a war at an age where one would consider him mad to push himself like this.

"You know you can't do this forever," said Diana.

"I can barely do it now," said Bruce.

"Then why still fight?" asked Diana.

"Diana, you're asking me the same question Alfred's been asking me for the past five years," said Bruce. "And my answer is that it's all I got to live for. I got no life outside the mask. Bruce Wayne was nothing more than a mask behind the mask."

"You think the mask is your true face?" asked Diana.

"When my parents died, I was just a little boy. An angry little boy who just wanted to leave it all," Bruce continued. "I spent five years traveling the world, training, learning, trying to find a purpose in life."

"And the Batman become that purpose," said Diana.

Bruce nodded.

"I am sorry about Jason," Diana apologized.

Bruce's stare turned into a glare. How did she know this? Oh, wait. He knows. A certain butler of his.

"Alfred and I talk. We both worry about you," said Diana.

"I've had allies on this crusade for the past twenty years," Bruce continued. "A young circus performer from Bludhaven who got tired of living under my shadow. A young woman with a knack for computers, suffered paralysis and forced to sit on a wheelchair forever. And then there was Jason, a common street rat who became a good soldier."

"When I first heard of the Batman, I heard he had a code. No killing," said Diana. "What happened with Jason and the Joker... is that why you...?"

"It wasn't the first time I lost an ally," said Bruce. "I guess every man breaks, even me. I tried walking from this life after Jason... I suck at living a normal life. Then when I came back, I started a body count. I just couldn't stop. I was angry, angrier than usual."

"But then you stopped," said Diana.

"Because I met you," said Bruce.

Diana was caught off guard by those words. Flattered or confused, she didn't know exactly what she felt.

"I never knew Clark long enough to understand him, but you, Diana, I understood you," said Bruce. "You knew right from wrong. You focus on what's important. You wear that smile on your face that strikes hope into people's hearts, including mine."

That famous smile showed up on Diana's face. Bruce wouldn't tell this to her face, but she was blushing.

"Ever since Jason, I saw the world as an ugly place with no hope of being changed. I just put on the suit because I needed to channel my anger into something else," said Bruce. "I saw Superman as nothing more than a possible world-ending threat. I prepared and prepared hard for the day I had to face him. When he sacrificed himself, it hit me, not because I was feeling guilty but because he showed me that there's always hope."

"And putting together this team?" asked Diana.

"A big mistake," Bruce admitted. "Only because it was _my_ mistake. I don't fit among these people."

"So, you thought speaking ill of Steve Trevor could push me to lead the team?" Diana questioned, realizing Bruce's reason for his behavior during that conversation. "I know you, Bruce. You push people's buttons for a reason."

"You're special, Diana," Bruce continued, smiling at her. "If anyone deserves to lead this team, it's you."

Diana smiled for a second. She had to admit, Bruce has his way with words. He's a complicated soul with so much anger and grief. He focuses on the negative side of the world because of a traumatic childhood experience. He could forge words in ways like no other she has ever met. If anything, he was special himself.

"But I don't fit into that role either," said Diana. "All I have been doing is reacting, not leading. Leaders get people killed. I fought, as I always have, but... to lead, to step into the light, to ask people the question, _Is this worth your life_... they're all Steve Trevor."

"If we make it through today, you can stay in the shadows forever, dressed up like a bat. I won't even sue," Bruce joked in his usual gritty tone.

Diana couldn't hold back her urge to laugh, so she simply smiled an amused smile.

"And what would that make me? The Bat-woman?" Diana joked.

"You'd make a better holder of that title than the last one I met," said Bruce.

" _If_ we make it through the day," said Diana.

Bruce and Diana toast to the upcoming battle. Bruce takes a sip, while Diana drinks the whole glass. As she did, she stared into Bruce's eyes with a dreamy expression on her face. Bruce looks at her with confusion as he takes another sip of his drink.

Unexpectedly, Diana pulls him by the collar and plants her lips against his. This action caused him to drop his glass. It shattered, which startled Diana. When she pulled away for a moment, she had a shy look on her face. Was she ashamed or was she glad? She was blushing, so that says something.

"You know we can't do this," said Bruce.

"How do you know?" asked Diana, smiling at him.

"You're immortal, I'm not. Plus, from what everything you've told me about Steve Trevor, I'm far from him," said Bruce.

"That's not a bad thing," said Diana.

Diana kisses Bruce again. He couldn't pull away, because something in him was screaming at him to return the favor. Diana drops her empty glass as she pulls him closer. The heat beneath her cheeks and the super fast beating of her heat has led her to this moment, and it felt so right. She dared not to question it. She just focused on living the moment.

Barry was walking by the room, munching on a burrito. He stopped walking and chewing when he caught the Dark Knight and the Amazon locking lips.

He was about to gasp, but covered his mouth. He grabs his phone from the lab at super speed and returns to the trophy room still moving at super speed. It allowed him to take pictures of Bruce and Diana without them knowing. The burrito he dropped was still falling in very slow motion. He grabs it, takes another bite, and leaves.

Bruce and Diana stopped kissing and looked at with stoic expressions of their faces.

"Barry was here, wasn't he?" Diana guessed.

"I'll hack into his phone," Bruce said, having guessed that the split-second flash of light came from the speedster's camera.

"No, let him keep the photo," said Diana. "I may want a copy."

"Very funny," Bruce said sarcastically.

Diana just smiled at him again. A giggle may have escaped through her teeth. Bruce rolls his eyes and wonders, _Are we in high school?_

"We don't ever speak about this to Alfred. Ever," Bruce said seriously.

"Cross my heart," Diana replied. "But it's Barry you have to worry about."

"Don't worry. I can take care of him easily," said Bruce.

"Well, I'll go see if Victor has found Steppenwolf," said Diana. "Thanks for the drink."

"Thanks for the talk," said Bruce.

Diana leaves Bruce alone. When she left the room, she stopped to think about what just happened. Just earlier today, she angrily pushed Bruce using her super strength because he said Steve Trevor's name with rudeness. Now, she had just shared a beautiful moment with him. He had opened himself to her and she could tell that it felt strange to him. Bruce was always the kind of man to keep himself closed, but he chose to be an open book for her. And only her. Because of that, she felt the need to pull herself closer to him.

"I think I just found by Krpytonite," she joked to herself.

 **Well, that's the best I got. I hope you like it.**


End file.
